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He laughed. ‘I can be.’ He gave Bailey a pointed look. ‘Though so can she.’
‘No way—she’s the endorphin queen,’ Joni said. ‘Bailey believes endorphins are the answer to absolutely everything.’
Jared went hot all over, thinking just how endorphins could be released and how much he’d like to do that with her. He really hoped nobody could read his thoughts. But he managed to pull himself together and shook Aaron’s hand. ‘Congratulations, both of you, and I hope you’ll be very happy together.’
They exchanged a glance, and he could see just how much they adored each other. So maybe Bailey was right and this would have a happy ending. Maybe he should start to believe in love again.
‘Righty.’ Bailey tucked her arm into his. ‘Let’s get this over with. Come and meet my lot. They’re the nicest family in the world, but I’m going to apologise in advance because they’re a bit—well—full on.’
‘Italian,’ he said.
She nodded. ‘Even though Dad’s English, living with my mum and the rest of us has kind of made him Italian.’
‘That’s nice,’ Jared said, and let her lead him over to her family.
‘Jared, this is my mother, Lucia, my brothers, Roberto and Giorgio—Rob and Gio for short—and my dad, Paul.’
Jared shook hands and kissed cheeks as expected, and then turned to Bailey. ‘How come you don’t have an Italian first name?’ he asked.
‘Because I was born on Christmas Eve, and in my family it’s tradition to watch It’s a Wonderful Life every single Christmas Eve—including the year I was born, because Mum had me at home. So she really had to call me Bailey, after George’s family.’
‘It could be worse,’ Lucia said with a grin. ‘I could have called you Clarence.’
‘Clarrie. Yes. That’s so me.’ Bailey flapped her hands in imitation of an angel’s wings and laughed.
‘She’s kept you very quiet, Jared,’ Lucia said.
‘Because we haven’t known each other very long, and I know what you’re like, Mamma,’ Bailey said. She switched into rapid Italian; clearly she was asking her mother not to interrogate him or embarrass her, Jared thought. Mischief prompted him to ask her if she realised that he spoke Italian, just to tease her; but, knowing Bailey, she’d call his bluff and speak in Italian for the rest of the evening, so he resisted the temptation. Just.
‘Sì, sì, bambina mia.’ Lucia pinched Bailey’s cheeks, and then continued her interrogation. ‘So where did you meet, Jared?’
‘At work,’ he said carefully.
‘So you’re a doctor?’
‘For a football team, yes.’
Bailey’s dad smiled at him. ‘Which one?’
Jared named the premier division club. ‘I work with the youth team—and they’ve got real potential.’
‘Oh, the team Bailey’s testing her box of tricks on?’ Paul asked. ‘I thought you said the team doctor was about to retire, Bailey?’
‘He did. Jared took over from him,’ Bailey said. ‘Are you going to grill the poor man all night, or can we talk about something else—like how gorgeous my best friend looks in her lovely floaty dress?’
‘She does indeed.’ Paul gave her a hug. ‘And so do you, darling. We don’t see you dressed up like this very often.’
‘If you came to see me with a sports injury and I looked like this when I treated you, you’d be worried that I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about and think that you were going to be injured and in pain for the rest of your life,’ she said with a grin. ‘That’s why I don’t dress like this very often.’
It turned out that they were at a table with Bailey’s family for the wedding breakfast, and Jared was surprised by how easily they included him in the conversation, as if they’d known him for ever. In turn, he got them to talk about the restaurant—and learned a lot about Bailey as a child. Her family was merciless in telling tales; but they clearly adored her, because she was laughing along with the rest of them and giving just as good as she got by telling tales about them, too.
He discovered that Bailey, when she was with her family, was incredibly tactile, so it was just as well they hadn’t agreed a no-touching rule, because she would’ve broken it several times a minute. He already knew that she talked with her hands, but this was something else. She touched his arm, his shoulder, his face, his hair. He wasn’t used to that at all, but he was surprised to discover that he liked it. That he wanted more.
Though that wasn’t part of the deal. He was her fake partner for tonight, not her real one, he reminded himself.
The food was excellent, but best of all was the cake. ‘This has to be the best cake I’ve ever had in my life,’ he said.
Rob looked pleased. ‘I’m glad you like it. Actually, it’s one of mine,’ he said diffidently.
‘Bailey said you were good—but she didn’t say you were this good. And I’m going to beg for seconds.’
‘You weren’t listening properly,’ she said, cuffing his arm. ‘I told you Rob was the best pastry chef in the universe. And who do you think made that chocolate cake I gave you?’
‘Oh, now, with those two pieces of evidence, I agree completely,’ Jared said with a smile.
Funny, he’d been faintly dreading the reception. But it was all easy, from chatting at the tables to listening to the speeches. And then finally the band started playing and the dancing began. The bride and groom danced together first, followed by Bailey and the best man. Jared couldn’t take his eyes off her. The way she moved was so graceful, so elegant. This was yet another side to the clever, slightly acerbic doctor he was used to. She’d turned out to be full of surprises.
And then she came over to him. ‘Dance with me?’
How could he say no? Especially when he’d been wanting to hold her close all day, and this was the perfect excuse.
When he danced with her, it was the first time he’d ever noticed her perfume; it reminded him of an orange grove in full bloom, yet with a sweet undertone. Sparkly and warm, just like her personality. And he could feel the warmth of her body against his.
To keep his mind off that fact, he asked, ‘Why do I recognise the guy playing guitar with the band?’
‘That’s Olly, Joni’s brother—he was one of the ushers, so you would’ve met him at the church,’ she explained.
‘Oh.’
‘Sorry about my family earlier. As I said, they’re a little intense.’
‘Don’t apologise—I like them. They love you,’ he said, ‘and it’s pretty clear they worry about you.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m thirty years old. I can look after myself.’
‘Families are supposed to worry about you,’ he reminded her.
‘Does yours worry about you?’ she challenged.
He smiled. ‘When I let them, yes.’
‘So you’re as bad as I am—except I bet you keep yours at bay by being grumpy.’
‘And you keep yours at bay by sparkling,’ he fenced.
‘Sparkling?’
‘Like vintage champagne in candlelight,’ he said.
Oh, for goodness’ sake. Anyone would think he’d been drinking way too much of the vintage champagne. He simply didn’t wax poetic like that. But something about Bailey made the words flow and he couldn’t stop them.
She smiled. ‘You think I’m sparkly?’
‘Very,’ he admitted.
‘Thank you—that’s a really lovely thing to say. Especially as I’ve pretty much neglected you today, and you’re doing me a huge favour by being here in the first place.’
‘You haven’t neglected me.’ And he was suddenly really glad that he’d agreed to do this. Because he was seeing a new side to Bailey Randall—a side he really liked. Sweet and playful and totally charming; yet it was totally genuine.
He held her closer. Somehow they were dancing cheek to cheek, and his hand was splayed at the top of her dress. He could feel the warmth of her skin against his fingertips and it sent a thrill right through him. Right at that moment it felt as if it was just the two of them on the dance floor, with nobody else around for miles and miles and miles.
‘Your back is perfect,’ he murmured.
‘Why, thank you, Dr Fraser.’
‘Sorry.’ He sighed. ‘I didn’t mean to say that. Ignore me.’
She pulled back slightly to look him straight in the eye. ‘I wasn’t being sarcastic—and I wasn’t offended. Seriously, Jared, thank you for the compliment.’
Her mouth was beautiful; her lower lip was full and he itched to catch it between his.
Oh, this was bad.
Why was he thinking about kissing her?
‘I noticed how perfect your back was when we trained together,’ he said. And now he was making things much worse. He really needed to shut up.
She ran one finger down his sleeve. ‘And I noticed your biceps when we trained together.’ Her voice had grown husky. ‘I like your biceps. They’re perfect, too.’
He knew that he was supposed to be just playing the part of her partner, but right now he wanted to make it reality. So he dipped his head. Just a little bit. Just enough that his mouth could brush against hers.
She tasted of champagne and wedding cake—and he liked it. A lot.
He pulled back so he could look her in the eye and take his cue from her. If she wanted him to back off, he’d do it.
But her lips were ever so slightly parted and there was a sparkle in her eyes that he’d never seen before.
‘Bailey, I really want to kiss you,’ he whispered.
‘I want you to kiss me, too,’ she whispered back.
That was all the encouragement he needed. He dipped his head again and took his sweet time kissing her. Every brush of his mouth against hers, every nibble, made him more and more aware of her. And she was kissing him back, her arms wrapped as tightly round him as his were round her.
He wanted this to last for ever.
But then he became aware that the music had changed and become more uptempo, and he and Bailey were still swaying together as if the band was playing a slow song. He broke the kiss, and he could see the exact moment that she realised what was going on, too. Those gorgeous dark eyes were absolutely huge. And she looked as shocked as he felt. Panicked,
almost.
This wasn’t supposed to be happening.
‘I, um …’ she said, and tailed off.
‘Yeah.’ He didn’t know what to say, either. What he really wanted to do was kiss her again—but they were in a public place. With her best friend and her family in attendance. And doing what he really wanted to do would cause all kinds of complications. He didn’t want to get involved with anyone. Apart from that one awful evening when his best friend had persuaded him to try speed dating—an experience he never wanted to repeat—Jared hadn’t dated since his divorce. No way was he setting himself up to get hurt again, the way he he’d been with Sasha—even though he knew that Bailey wasn’t a bit like Sasha.
‘I guess I ought to do some chief bridesmaid stuff and get the kids dancing,’ she said.
And he ought to offer to help her. Except there was just a hint of fear in her eyes. He didn’t think she was scared of him; maybe, he thought, she was just as scared of getting involved as he was. Especially given that she’d asked him to be her fake partner to keep her family happy. Bailey had obviously been hurt at some point, too, and they clearly worried about her.
‘I guess,’ he said. ‘Do you, um, want a hand?’
‘Do you like kids?’
That was an easy one. ‘Yes, I do.’ And he’d always thought he’d have children of his own one day. Sasha had taken the choice of keeping the baby away from him, and at that point he’d realised just how much he wanted to be a dad. But unless he took the risk of giving someone his heart—the right woman, someone he could really trust—that wasn’t going to happen.
He pushed the thought away and concentrated on helping Bailey organise the children. She was a natural with them—they responded to her warmth. Just like him.
‘If you could dance with some of the wallflowers,’ she said quietly to him, ‘that would be kind.’
Kind wasn’t what he was feeling right now, but kind would be a hell of a lot safer. ‘Sure,’ he said.
Even though he was polite and made conversation with the women he danced with, he was totally aware of Bailey throughout the entire evening. Her smile, her sparkle, her warmth. And she made him ache.
He wanted her. Really wanted her. But he knew she’d panicked as much as he had when they’d kissed, so it was a bad idea. They needed to go back to being strictly colleagues. Somehow.
At the end of the evening he said his goodbyes to Bailey’s family, trusting that she’d manage to get him out of a promise to see them soon.
‘I guess this is it, then,’ she said as she walked him to the door of the ballroom.
‘I’ll call a taxi and see you home first,’ he said.
She shook her head. ‘You don’t have to do that.’
He smiled. ‘Yes, I do. I’m old-fashioned. So let’s not argue about it—just humour me on this one, OK?’
She didn’t argue and let him organise a taxi. She didn’t say much on the journey back to her place; although Jared desperately wanted to reach for her hand, he kept a tight rein on himself and simply joined her in sitting quietly.
When the taxi stopped, he paid the cabbie.
‘Isn’t he taking you home now?’ Bailey asked, and he could see the panic in her eyes. Did she really think that he expected her to invite him in for a nightcap—or more?
‘No. I’m seeing you to your doorstep and waiting until you’re safely inside, then I’m taking the Tube home,’ Jared said. ‘And, yes, I know you can look after yourself, but it’s been a long day and you’re wearing incredibly high heels.’
‘Point taken.’ Her expression softened. ‘Thank you.’
She let him escort her to her doorstep.
‘Thank you for today,’ she said. ‘I really appreciate it.’
